Steel vs Wind
by byakuhana
Summary: The way Tenten and Temari's match should have gone. Flames welcomed!


Hey everybody! It's Byakuhana again! This is my latest creation! The way I believe the Tenten vs. Temari match should have gone. Just so you know: no, I don't hate either kunoichis. I love them both. Please R&R!

Disclaimer: (this'll be for all my future stories as well) I don't own Naruto. Were you really expecting anybody to say that they _do_ own Naruto? If so, you're crazy. Almost as crazy as me.

**STEEL vs. WIND**

The sound of metal clanging as it hit the floor echoed in the large indoor arena.

"I missed her? There's just no way!" Tenten yelled in disbelief. She was utterly dumbfounded by the fact that she had not hit her mark.

Her aim was perfect. That was pretty much a fact. She had the ability to hit her mark 100 times out of 100 tries. As she looked into the cocky eyes of her sand village opponent, she knew there had to be an explanation.

"What was that? A warm up exercise? Or maybe you're a little nervous and it's affected your aim. Is that it?" Temari taunted back. "Perhaps I was hoping I'd at least work up a sweat, but forget _that_ idea if this is the best you've got."

High up on the spectator's ledge Tenten heard the annoying cheering and chanting of her very "youthful" sensei and teammate.

"Come on Tenten! You can do it! Show her who is best!" Lee yelled. "Alright Tenten! Keep her guessing! Go for it! You've got the power of youth! Come on Tenten! Send that girl back to her village on a stretcher! We are right behind you all the way, Tenten! Let's hear it! 2, 4, 6, 8. Who do we appreciate? Tenten! Tenten! WOOOOOO!! WOOOHOOOO!" they cheered.

_Ok. Stay calm. Don't let her get to you. _Tenten told herself. _Let's see now…_ She measured the spaces from her to her opponent. _1…2…3…alright. At this distance I can either attack or defend. She must have dodged them somehow! But…if I try a different approach…_ Only then had she just realized the enormous fan Temari carried on her back. _So that's it! It must have something to do with that fan she carries! Ok then… here goes!_

Tenten ran in a wide semi-circle around to Temari's back-side, thinking that a behind approach might give her an advantage. She kicked off hard from the ground and soared high into the air. Then, in midair, she pulled out one of her summoning scrolls. She unrolled the long material and began twirling it around her. Faster and faster it spun until it looked like a solid cocoon around her.

From that cocoon, many various kinds of sharp throwing weapons flew out in all directions. A mass of them headed straight for Temari. However, she didn't even make an attempt to move out of the way. She merely smiled and took out her giant fan. With one swift swipe she easily blew them all away.

Tenten landed on the floor shortly after her weapons did. Her scroll fluttered down neatly beside her.

"No way! She stopped everything I threw at her!" Again Tenten was in shock. She was sure at least _one_ of them would hit her, but apparently they didn't. _What has she got in that fan of hers?_

Temari chuckled. "Take a look. This is the first moon." She indicated to the purple circle on the face of her fan. "There are two more. When you see all three moons you'll know you've lost the match."

Tenten gritted her teeth. This was becoming very frustrating. And Lee's constant cheering wasn't helping either.

"Come on Tenten! Do not play your opponent's game! Maintain focus! MAINTAIN FOCUS!"

_I know, Lee. I know! Well…I was planning on saving this for the final matches instead of wasting it on a preliminary round. But it may be now or never. This'll just _have _to work!_

The dungo-haired kunoichi pulled two small scrolls out from her weapon pouch. She knelt over and placed both of them neatly on either side of her so that they stood up horizontally. She then preformed a series of hand signs.

"Rising Twin Dragons!"

From the top of each scroll, two dragon shaped jets of smoke shot upward and began swirling around each other, with Tenten in the center of it all. She kicked off hard and once again flew into the air. While in midair the two lines of smoke turned into scrolls. The inside of the scrolls were lined with large symbols and every time her hand passed over one it would summon a single throwing weapon. With all her strength she threw kunai after knife after needle after daggers at the sand kunoichi, who, once again, made no attempt to move.

"It doesn't matter how many you throw at me. It's all the same. Moon number two!" Temari shouted as she opened her fan even wider to reveal the second purple circle. With a mighty heave of her fan, that looked almost effortless, Temari blew every one of the projectiles away again.

The two open scrolls fluttered down to the ground neatly as Tenten landed next to them.

"I'm not done!" Tenten yelled as she jumped high into the air again. Using strings of her chakra to control them, as a puppeteer would, the weapons began slowly rising into the air. In a last effort to take down the blonde sand kunoichi Tenten hurled the various sharp objects at her. _This time I've got her for sure!_ She thought triumphantly to herself.

But once again, Temari had to blow away every single one of them, along with Tenten this time. Tenten came crashing to the ground on top of the many kunais and such scattered on the floor.

_Dammit! Not again! _Tenten cursed in her head.

"Moon number three." Temari smiled. In one sweeping motion she and her fan disappeared.

_What the hell! Where did she go? She…she's gone!_

"Yoohoo! Over here!" she heard a mocking voice from behind her. She turned to find her sand village rival floating on her giant fan towards her. She looked so light, like a leaf in the breeze.

Temari landed light as a cat in the spot where she had left.

"Now it's my turn. Wind Scythe Jutsu!" She heaved her fan and sent a huge air current that swept Tenten up with it.

Tenten was now in Temari's trap. The vortex of wind that surrounded her was being controlled by the sand kunoichi. She was now at her mercy. The wind, although not solid, was somehow able to cut her. The howling, relentless (A/N: yay! vocab word!) wind kept slashing at her skin. It tore flesh and clothes alike. Tenten screamed in pain, but the sound was drowned out by the roaring wind. It felt like it would never end. But, after what felt like an eternity, she felt as though she was falling… falling…

CRUNCH!

Tenten felt all the air leave her body as she landed on her back on the giant metal fan. Her back curved in a sickening looking arch.

Every one of the spectators gasped. They knew it was over.

_Everything was black. She felt as though she were floating in darkness. It was peaceful, almost relaxing. She wanted to stay like this forever. What ever pain she had felt previously was slowly going away. At the same time, all around her began to get darker and darker. All was so calm…until a familiar female's voice interrupted it._

"Tenten! What do you think you're doing lying there like that! HUH? You've got a match to finish! So get up and go kick that sand girl's ass!"

"_But…she's too strong." She answered sleepily. "I'm no match for her. What's the point of going on if I'm just gonna get beat down again and again and-"_

"SHUT UP! Will you listen to yourself! You're just whining and complaining! So what if she's stronger? You're smarter! You're on the same team with two of the number one genins in the village! That means something! It means that you're an excellent shinobi, too!"

"_Yeah…you're right. I guess it does…"_

"See!" the voice replied. "So are you gonna just lay there forever? Or are you gonna go kick some ass!!"

"_Alright! I'll do it! But I just have one question. Who are you?"_

"Me? I'm just the little voice in the back of your head that tells you over and over to never give up. I'm just doin' my job."

"_Ok then…Anyway, thanks for your help!"_

_The darkness began to become lighter and lighter. She began to feel the pain all over her body coming back as strong as it was before. The intense pain in her back was growing and growing. The tranquility of a moment ago was fading fast as she woke up from her unconscious state. She could hear a faint male's voice growing louder._

"It appears Tenten is no longer able to battle"

_Crap! It's the jounin proctor! He's gonna call the match! I have… to… say…something…_

Tenten slowly closed her fists. As the feeling returned to her legs, she began to wiggle her feet, too. She closed her eyes tighter as she strained to move. However, her movements were too slight for him to notice.

"Then the winner..."

_No! NO! I have to get up! Move you damned body! Move! I have to do something so he doesn't call the match! _

"of the fifth match is…"

_Do something! Come on! Say something!_

With the little breath left in her, Tenten did the only thing she could do at the moment.

"no…" It was half coughed and half whispered, but it was enough for every one in the arena to hear it.

She cracked her eyes open ever so slightly and was blinded by the bright incandescent lights on the ceiling. Slowly, very slowly, she began to move her fingers and toes more and more. She tried lifting her head up. Her entire body ached and it didn't want to get up.

"What! You…" the cocky look had disappeared from the blonde's face. In her anger she threw the limp kunoichi's form from her fan.

Tenten felt the momentary feeling of being airborne. Her body still refused to move very much and there was no way to break her fall.

She impacted with the cold ground hard and tumbled to a stop shortly after.

Tenten lay there motionless for a second. Then slowly she tried to stand. It took all her will power and physical power. Her body had decided that it now wanted to move and she was very grateful for that. She staggered to an almost upright position. Now that her back wasn't at 180 degree arch and her lungs weren't constricted, she gladly took in gulps of air. Large drops of blood dripped onto the floor. They were from various gashes Temari's wind scythe had inflicted on her.

The leaf kunoichi's heavy breathing was reassuring to Temari. The previous cocky look returned to her face.

"That last attack may not have finished you, but how long can you last in that condition?" taunted the sand girl.

_Just ignore her. You've got to be smart. Think of a strategy. Find her weak point……That's it! I've got! What good is a fan that is ripped?_ She laughed inwardly at her own cleverness. Her lips stretched into a smile as she stared down her opponent with determined eyes.

_Awww. How cute. She thinks she's figured me out._ Temari thought. _Let's see what futile attack she tries this time. _

Tenten took off towards Temari as fast as her sore legs would carry her. She had everything figured out and had made a plan in her head. All that was left to do now was to put that plan into action.

"A straight forward attack? You must be stupider than you look." Temari reached for her giant fan. She did a small flap with it and sent a huge gust of wind at the, what she thought to be, inexperienced shinobi making another useless assault.

When she saw the sand kunoichi reach back, the brown-eyed ninja dove onto her knees on the ground. When she came sliding to a stop she grabbed a random kunai that was lying on the floor, in each hand. She took both of the blades and drove them into the ground. She flattened her body the best she could. The wind came rushing past and howled in her ear, but because she was securely moored to the ground, she wasn't going anywhere.

After the gust had subsided, the Weapons Mistress picked herself up and resumed her charge at the sand girl. She lashed out for Temari with the kunais she held in her hands. Unfortunately, Temari was just as fast and blocked them. At an even faster speed, the sand village shinobi pushed her back, opened her fan and sent another gust of wind at Tenten, all in one fluent motion.

The slicing wind struck Tenten again and again. But just then her body disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"A clone!" Temari's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"That's right!" Tenten's voice came from behind. "I've got you now!"

With one long swipe of her blade, Tenten tore right through the material of Temari's fan. A long even rip ran through the center of Temari's one and only weapon.

"How do ya like _that_!" Now it was Tenten's turn for taunting.

"You little bitch!! You'll pay for that!!" Temari closed her fan and, with the steel part, swung as hard as she could. However, it didn't make contact with its target. At the same time, Tenten had jumped over the sand shinobi's head and landed on her hands. As she landed her feet closed around Temari's neck. All in one swift motion Tenten turned on her hands and slammed her opponent's head into the ground. Tenten landed gracefully on the ground; Temari, however, didn't (seeing as how it's pretty hard to land on your face gracefully :P)

"Had enough yet? Or was all your big talk a minute ago just talk?" Tenten smiled.

Temari shakily rose to her feet. She was pinching her severely bleeding nose which indicated that it was probably broken. A small trail of blood also leaked from the corner of her mouth. She picked up her closed steel fan. But before she could react, the brown-eyed kunoichi came charging again with a wooden staff she had summoned. With one swing of her staff the big fan was sent flying across the room, never to be used in this match again.

"Now that _that's _taken care of, let's start this for real." Tenten ran forward. She swung and jabbed left and right. Temari could only block with her forearms.

Not expecting a low hit, the sand shinobi was tripped by Tenten's staff. She fell backwards and landed flat on her back. Tenten pressed the tip on the wooden rod against Temari's throat, making it slightly difficult to breath.

"Don't think I'm done yet!" Temari yelled as she kicked aside Tenten's rod. With another kick she caught her in the gut and knocked her back.

Both kunoichis were breathing heavily now. They knew that this next move would end it. They took one last moment to stare down each other.

In one last all-out attack they charged at each other. Tenten swung her staff around only to have it stopped by the other genin. She tried hit after hit but they were all blocked. With all her might, Tenten threw a punch at Temari's stomach and was returned with a punch equally hard in the face. The force of the impact pushed both of them back. Tenten then jumped into the air and, before Temari could block it, sent it crashing into the shoulder near the neck of the blonde sand ninja. A vital point. Temari's eyes grew wide in shock and pain as she sank heavily to her knees, and then she eventually collapsed to the side. It was a KO.

The jounin proctor came closer to inspect the outcome.

"Well it seems like Temari is no longer able to continue the match. Therefore, the winner if the fifth match is Tenten."

_Yes! I… did…it…_

Complete and utter exhaustion came over the dungo-haired girl. She gently fell backwards and was caught by a pair of strong, gentle arms. As to whose arms they were, she didn't know and didn't care. All that mattered was that she had won. She didn't give up and she had been victorious because of it. She heard voices but could make out who they were. They grew fainter and fainter. She smiled a weak smile as she once more drifted of into the calming darkness of unconsciousness.

_I won…_

Byakuhana: Hey that wasn't half bad…

Tenten: Ya really! I kicked her ass!! YAY ME!!

Temari: What the hell was that?! That would never happen in a real match!

Byakuhana: Shut up! This is my imagination! If you don't like it, TOUGH!

Temari: Fine then::charges at Byakuhana with fan::

Byakuhana: You're forgetting Temari-san. You're in _my_ world now… ::smiles evilly::

::cage appears around Temari::

Temari: HEY! If you don't let me outta here, I'm gonna get Gaara!

Byakuhana: Gaara's coming? YAY:D

Please R&R! Chow for now!


End file.
